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pdf of available teacher presentation)Summary
There are too many aspects of Marketing to give a good review in this
single week. The intent is to show the intertwinement between
engineering and marketing efforts in industry. This simple
introduction to the basic marketing principles will equip students
enough
to create and present a simple marketing program.

Background
Marketing involves all the actions taken to foster the relationship
between producer and consumer. Laymen might think that marketing
picks up the product life cycle where engineering leaves off. This is
not the case. Part of the marketing responsibilities
include directing the product development team towards products that
fit the known (or suspected) market need. On the flip side, even
when the product
has been "turned over" to the marketing team, engineers will continue
to be involved in production, servicing, and revision of the
product. Great engineers and great marketers realize that their
two roles are truly intertwined. Those skilled in marketing may
find careers as PR managers, graphic art directors, company buyers,
copywriters, or related consultants and researchers.

The body of knowledge in the area of marketing is extensive and much is
available online. We'll make no effort to capture the nuances of
the marketing profession, but instead will only engage the fundamental
principles:

focus on customer needs (real and perceived)

plan in detail

recognize value added by a product (both perceived and real)

attention paid to product,
price, promotion, and placement

Creating a marketing program is not that different from designing a
product. The 10-steps in our formal engineering design process
apply here as well. Focus on the parallels between the two
projects (new product development and marketing) and you will
learn the design process more quickly.

As with the previous introduction to new product development, this
topic ends with students presenting their project plan and results
of their "design process" for a mini-project. Marketers in
industry
are responsible for making presentations in a variety of
situations. The basics of written
and oral communication are not covered in this
curriculum. It is presumed those topic have or will be covered in
the students' liberal arts classes. However, it might be helpful
to review the basics. Fundamentally,
communicating any idea requires that the presenter clearly identifies
the
relevant topic, research and gather information, then organize and
reduce the information to best communicate the topic to the known
audience. Good presentations will always have an introduction
portion, main content, and summary or conclusions. Students may
benefit from discussing examples of effective visual aids including:

Tables to present numerical data

Various types of graphs and charts (bar charts, pie chart,
line graphs). All need clear titles and units to be effective.

Schematics (or line drawings)

Photographs and maps

Prototypes and other physical models

Appropriate physical media will depend on the classroom resources and
the time allotted to each presenting group. Consider carefully
which you will use (transparencies, computer slides, blackboards,
poster boards, or handouts) because each media has its own advantages
and
disadvantages.

Teacher Preparation

Identify some appropriate marketing related topics for the
students to research on their own.

Gather
a taxonomy to genererally describe the role of marketing in society.

Contrive some simple challenge for the students to practice
developing a marketing plan for.

Prepare simple handouts to describe the phases of a
marketing plan, fundamental marketing principles, and role of marketing
in society.

Prepare assessment forms for student presentations.

Classroom Activities
Give the students an overview of the marketing process an
then have them individually research various marketing related topics
that they can relate to. Lead the class discussion to relate what
they learned to the foundational principles of marketing. Have
the students work in small groups to address a simple
marketing challenge. Students will create and document a detailed
marketing plan. After documenting their progress at each step,
they will present their overall plan to the class.

Objectives

5.1 Independent Investigation into the World of Marketing

Know the breadth of marketing related careers
and their respective duties in society

Know the educational background required to
enter various marketing careers

Activities

Students perform independent research online or in library.

5.2
Introduction to Marketing

Comprehend the basic role of marketing in
society

Comprehend some specific marketing duties

Comprehend the Foundational Principles of
marketing

Know the four P's of marketing

Students discuss what they independently learned about marketing.
Engage students with teacher presentation.
Work in groups to begin developing a marketing plan.

5.3
Practical Marketing Plan

Comprehend inputs and outputs of various phases
in a typical marketing plan

Comprehend the scope of the "project
definition" phase

Engage students with teacher presentation.
Work in groups to detail an official project plan and complete the
project definition phase.

5.4
Organizing a Presentation for Management

Comprehend the basic elements of any
presentation

Evaluate significance of available information
and reduce to essential basis

Organize information into a coherent
presentation

Work in groups to prepare to present their marketing plan to the class.

5.5
Practice Presenting to Management

Practice public speaking

Evaluate content and fluency of a presentation

Small groups make presentations while peers evaluate the content and
fluency.